You hurt me too much!
by ChicCuteness
Summary: They're in high school but why do they still fight and...do missions...! Fed up Mikan and softer Hotaru... what is going on! plz RxR! NxM Pairing posibbly HxR! critism accepted! T for safety! THX for the reviews!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER:

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! I definitely do not own or anything related to this Anime/Manga: Gakuen Alice!

* * *

_I tap the glass over looking the great academy wondering whether you'll come back or not. I wish upon a star hoping and praying that my wish will come true. I wish you would always be there happy and safe whether it's with me or not._

* * *

It was a chilly late night in October and a certain brunette was pacing her special star bedroom apprehensively.

Why you ask?

Well let me tell you…

She was waiting for a certain someone to come back from a certain mission and that certain someone just happened to live in the room just behind hers.

It was none other than the High school division's, no; scratch that, the Academy's heartthrob and own Kuro Neko, Hyuuga Natsume.

Even though there had been a great Alice war he still had to do missions much to her dismay.

Though one tends to wonder why this anti social person still took these missions on, even though they had stopped trying to force him after the elementary school principle and Persona had been defeated.

Well, it wasn't because he felt that it was his duty, oh no, you would be asking for a miracle if that were ever to happen. No, it certainly wasn't because he enjoyed putting himself through torment (he isn't a masochist in this fan fic) but for another reason, a reason that even she couldn't figure out.

He was hoping to find the leader of the AAO (short for Anti Alice Organization). The reason being well… (It's kind of obvious if you read this manga)… REVENGE. Oh yes, satisfying, bittersweet revenge. For making him do stupid missions; risking his life; capturing his younger sister and hurting a special someone who wore polka dotted underwear, her name: Sakura Mikan.

Anyway back to the brunette who was worrying in her room (by now you should've guessed that this brunette is Sakura Mikan). It was 3oClock in the morning and it was raining heavily. Mikan was walking yet again to the window waiting for HIM.

'If he doesn't come anytime soon, he will have to be prepared for an extra long lecture/scolding!' She thought to herself. ' I mean who in their right mind would go to those missions anymore? He really is demented… but still caring, handsome, giving… and yet he is an arrogant, cold, perverted jerk with a HUGE ego!'

After she finished that thought she heard a thump and despite the fact that it was pouring outside with rain she rushed out onto her balcony only to be greeted with a horrendous sight…

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Will update soon!!

Please review so far!!! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

_…Despite the fact that it was pouring outside with rain she rushed out onto her balcony only to be greeted with a horrendous sight…_

* * *

Mikan rushed out only to see blood and a person at the brink of death right there in front of her.

"Natsume… what did you do to yourself this time!?" she half cried and whispered to him.

He was unconscious and barely breathing.

With all her strength she dragged him into her room and after treating his wounds his condition was still not good, so she sat down next to him and wondered what she could do.

"I can't take him to the hospital, he's too heavy to carry. I can't take him to his room since someone would defiantly see us… unless I let him stay here… ooh, but he is such a pervert… Wait a sec I copied the healing Alice from Subaru Senpai, I'm sure I could use that! Yes, that's exactly what I'll do!"

Soon enough she got the Alice stone out and activated it, emitting a green glowing light from her hand.

"There that should just about do it!" she bubbled. (I find it amazing that Natsume didn't die after all the time she spent thinking. Hey! It's Mikan we're talking about… No offence of course!)

After doing one last and final check up on Natsume, Mikan finally curled up on the couch and slept (she's not going to sleep with him after all!).

* * *

The following day…

Natsume woke up and realised he wasn't in his bedroom. To make it worse someone had covered him in a PINK fluffy blanket.

It just wasn't his day; his manly pride had been wounded along with his body.

He looked around and saw the most important person in his life sleeping on a couch near the bed.

" Idiot," he thought to himself.

Still, she was his idiot… well not yet, but soon.

He got up and quickly dusted himself off.

His joints were aching all over but when that idiot would wake up she'd scream… LOUD!

He smirked at the image of the look of her face discovering that he was in her room floated up in his mind.

Ah, the temptations of staying and seeing her realise that it was she who bought him into her room in the first place and making a fool of herself again was VERY tempting, but he had to report back about his mission.

The sooner it was done the sooner it would be over he thought.

With one last glance at her angelic face he walked out of the room closing the door softly behind him.

* * *

At the Sakura Tree…

Natsume sat against a tree and started to recall what had just happened…


	3. Chapter 3

_Natsume sat against a tree and started to recall what had just happened…_

* * *

Flash back:

Natsume was walking back to school after he had done his job and now he just wanted to chill out and read one of his many manga.

He was just passing by the Northern forest when he heard a twig snap, he slowly looked up and was shocked by what he saw… Persona!

What the hell was he doing here?

He was meant to be dead and Natsume was meant to be free from ever seeing him again.

The man vanished with a smirk before Natsume could even react and he damn well new what Natsume was thinking by the expression on his face.

Funny thing was though, that he wasn't wearing a mask that prevented his Alice from working at full strength.

End of Flash back

* * *

"For crying out loud! Don't tell me he's damn well back!" Natsume spat out to no one in particular.

The image of that man's face was still bringing him chills.

He had seen a lot of gruesome things in his life, but never something that horrible!

Without his mask Persona's face had many patches on it that were slowly rotting away as if his Alice hated the very body it was stored in.

Natsume shuddered and decided to remain quiet about this for the time being and if anything started to act up he would have to report it to the high school principal (they're in high school now… I forget to mention it in the other chapters. Sorry!! Please forgive me!)

For now he'd just have to act like nothing was wrong at all and just go through the day.

Not hard at all for him (I mean come on! He's famous for his lack of social skills and etc, besides this is just hiding one little discovery that he has made and he's had a lot of experience in lying, so it's not a problem!)

Though may have been a little flaw in his plans: MIKAN.

She could suss out almost anything that he was hiding from her now and could practically read his heart, sometimes he wondered if she had acquired some heart reading Alice or something but there was one emotion he felt that she was oblivious to.

Yes, that's right; LOVE (wow Natsume, you really are bad at this whole love concept~) It was the only emotion he knew she couldn't and was really sure that she didn't love him back like loved her.

Natsume sighed at the thought and wondered why he was thinking about this now at a time like this (well Mikan should know about this too Natsume. She's just as involved in this situation as you are, but you probably aren't going to tell her… I'm right aren't I? P.S the audience that's reading this probably saw this coming XD).

Oh well he decided just wouldn't tell her as she was to precious to lose and he'd take any punishment any day to keep her away from this cold hearted and side he was on (aawww so sweet yet so naïve! I love this kind of Natsume!).

Now he'd better get back to his room…

* * *

Meanwhile…

Mikan slowly opened her eyes and looked around her room and saw she wasn't sleeping on her bed but on her couch and it hit her like a like a lightning bolt at top speed (literally) and remembered Natsume and how he was injured badly and how she had treated his wounds and laid him on her bed.

She looked around for him but he wasn't there and to top it all off her she smelt something that had gotten burnt recently and was shocked to realise that it was her favourite pink fluffy blanket's ashes on the floor.

Mikan's lips went into a tight line as…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

"NATSUME!!!!!!!!!"

Blast off!!!

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated in a long time!! I've been so busy lately!! Don't worry though I'll have the next chappie up soon!!


	4. Chapter 4

…_she smelt something that had gotten burnt recently and was shocked to realise that it was her favourite pink fluffy blanket's ashes on the floor. Mikan's lips went into a tight line as…_

* * *

Mikan quickly got dressed and started to scour the entire academy until she found Natsume (…looks like she's kind of pissed off…).

With no luck she went straight to Hotaru's room and started her rant, "HHHoooottttaaaaaaarrrruuuuu~~~ it w- hiccup- was all- hiccup- Na- hiccup- Natsu- hiccup- Natsume's fault~~~~!" Mikan wept in between hiccups.

She was crying so much that a river had formed right in the middle of Hotaru's lab (uh oh… I hope all her inventions are waterproof!)

Luckily the ever so prepared Hotaru got out her latest invention, " Invention no# 1589 water sucking gun. Provides as a water gun and also can conveniently suck any amount of water. Only 750 rabbits each or free for **my** personal use only." Hotaru stated to no one particular with her usual poker face and monologue and then sucked all the water from her lab's floor.

With that done she went to console Mikan (She didn't even charge her for wetting her expensive floor or call her BAKA!! Is a storm coming?!)

Hotaru let Mikan blow her nose with her extra absorbent tissues and eat cookies.

Over the years Hotaru had become much more… let's say much more considerate towards her friends and Mikan.

She now had a mental checkbook on how to treat best friends nice:

Hotaru's mental checkbook on how to treat friends nice:

***Never charge your friends money on wasting your time or ruining your floor (no matter how irritating it is and how much precious rabbits you lose out on) well… maybe make them pay half price.**

***Always make time to talk to them about their problems (even though they are incredibly dense and any normal person like your self would've of known the solution the moment the situation hit you i.e. hitting the perpetrator/s with the BAKA cannon) hmmm… though sometimes it's ok to freeze them out if the dilemma is pointless e.g. when a certain pervert peeks at a certain best friend again or vice versa.**

***Make sure you're their to help them in their time of need like helping them to revise and so on (Though they maybe an idiot and not get a question like why do plants photosynthesise or a basic algebra problem that even a kid younger than them knows, don't worry their your friends and friends help each other out) but sometimes it maybe ok to 'coincidentally' come up with work that just has to be done and run away on your duck scooter.**

***Never blackmail your friends but your enemies and sell their pictures (even though most over your enemies aren't at all lucky with the girls and their pictures will never gain you any profit) though… maybe it is ok to use some of your more fortunate friends' picture's for example; Bunny boy playing with animals and so on. After all they are your friends and they aught to understand that you need the money for some of the better things in life that are your definite essentials e.g. crab roe, crab brains etc. **

***The final rule; never hurt your friends or let anyone hurt them because if they do they might just not wake up tomorrow morning. This rule is the most important one of all: DO NOT BREAK IT!!**

**That brings us towards the end of my list. Ah I'm such a saint. **(I sweat drop at this point).

* * *

Anyways back to Mikan:

She was still a little weepy but could speak properly now, " Hey Hotaru… You know I'm worried, about Natsume he… He's someone important to me and… Even the thought of him doing missions puts me into distress."

"…" Hotaru kept silent and thought about what her friend just said.

It was true that Natsume was still doing missions and not even against his will this time round.

' What is wrong with this guy?' She thought while quizzing all the possibilities of him doing these 'tasks'.

While on the other hand, her depressed friend here was too dim witted to figure out her real feelings and put them into action.

She mentally sniggered at the thought of her friend containing a certain emotion for a certain boy in the academy for 5+ years and not knowing about it.

The confession would've given her a fortune… but then she'd be breaking the rules she'd given herself on how to treat friends.

Sighing she decided to help Mikan out by giving her a 'hint',

" Mikan, think about why Natsume is so important to you and then try to see why he is doing missions. I mean knowing you as long as we have been best friends I'm sure you're one of the only few people who have the slightest chance of figuring Natsume out" Hotaru said in an emotionless tone but with a small smile on her face.

At the sight of Hotaru's rare smile Mikan's spirit zoomed straight up,

"THANKS HOTARUU~" Mikan bellowed as she nearly squeezed her friend to death in a bear hug and zoomed straight out of the room before Hotaru could even take out the BAKA Gun (she still uses that?!).

"Your welcome, baka," she said softly as the door banged shut (She should really ban name calling in her mental list of rules).

* * *

Mikan was now outside and started to head towards the Sakura tree…


	5. Chapter 5

…_Mikan was now outside and started to head towards the Sakura tree…_

* * *

"NATSUME!"

'Uh, oh' Natsume thought when he heard Mikan scream his bellow just 3 feet away from the Sakura tree where he was sitting, she was the last person he wanted to see and her being  
around him was practically putting her in danger.

Natsume was deep in thought about how to get Mikan away from him that he didn't notice her pull his manga away from his face.

" Hah! I knew you weren't sleeping!' Mikan shouted triumphantly as if she'd won a great prize

"What dya want polka-dots?" Natsume asked blandly.

"NAT-SU-MEEE!!!!" Mikan screamed while her face turned scarlet red and steam came out from her ear lobes making Natsume smirk.

"YOU PERVERT!!! How many times have I told you?! My name is Mikan! MI-KA-N!!"

"Whatever… hey, you're wearing a new pattern today… Smileys," Natsume inquired dryly.

That's right it took him less than a second to flip Mikan's skirt up and peek at her panty.

" YOU PERVERTED RETARDED FOX EYED JERK!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mikan roared so loud that the academy shook causing a mini earthquake (is that even possible?!) while backing away from him.

"Shut up BAKA! Your making my ears bleed! AGAIN!" Natsume was pissed because Mikan still hadn't run away shouting and screaming insults like she normally did, but she stood her ground.

On all days why did she pick today to be so stubborn?!

Suddenly she came right up to him and sat herself down.

Natsume just looked up towards the sky, hoping that ignoring her would work.

Sadly it didn't and the brunette beside him suddenly decided to talk,

"Natsume… what's wrong? What happened this time? Don't say nothing is wrong cause I can tell something's not right from your eyes," Mikan inquired her face only three inches away from Natsume.

Natsume's eyes widened in shock but he kept his cool exterior, he knew where this was leading to and he really had to restrain himself from such temptations (hmmm… I wonder how much restraint It took~ Nat~ Su~ me~) so instead he said,

" None of your business," hoping that would send her off but, it didn't.

Mikan still sat close next to him with a puzzled look on her face.

" What is wrong with this BAKA Youjo?!… Though her facial expression does look kinda cute…" Natsume thought with exasperation as his heart beat decided to accelerate a little.

"Nat~ su~ me~ …" Mikan chided gently tugging the end of his sleeve. That was it, his breakdown point and he couldn't endure this feeling any longer. He'd face any consequence that would come afterwards but for now he had to…

* * *

Hehehehe Cliff hanger!! I know I hate them too but I promise I'll come up with the next chapter soon!! I just wanted to thank all the people that have left me reviews coz they mean a lot guys!! Or people that have added me to their favourite authors or stories list make me feel really honoured!!! Really!! If any of you people out there have any suggestions or ideas for this story I'm happy to hear them!! Anyways bye for now!! ; P


	6. Chapter 6

…That was it, his breakdown point and he couldn't endure this feeling any longer. He'd face any consequence that would come afterwards but for now he had to…

* * *

He leaned in pulling her closer at the same time wondering what she would do afterwards.

Though this thought flew out of his head afterwards when his lips made contact with hers.

Mikan couldn't believe what Natsume was doing to her, but for some reason she realised that she was enjoying his touch.

It felt like it was meant to be.

With both of their eyes closed they shared a soft sweet gentle kiss, but alas to their dismay they had to break for something called air.

Once Mikan had gotten her breath back she barely audibly asked, "Natsume… Tell me… why did you do that?" A light blush was seen on her cheeks.

"Why did I do what?" Natsume knew very well but he wanted to avoid the subject.

He wasn't in the right position to confess yet and most of all he was afraid of rejection.

" You know what I'm talking about Natsume. Don't try to play games with my mind!" Mikan answered rather angrily (well wouldn't you be?).

" You wouldn't shut up so I kissed you to keep you quiet. Why else did you think I did?" (You're such a liar Natsume.) Natsume's bangs covered his face so you couldn't see his expression.

From hearing this Mikan felt disappointed and she didn't know why but nevertheless she practically shouted, " NATSUME! YOU PERVERT! I HATE YOU!"

After saying that she ran away in tears leaving a rather guilty Kuro Neko behind (I can't really imagine Natsume's guilty face at this point so I can't really describe it.)

"It's for your own good Mikan," Natsume said under his breath as he got up.

Those three words stung and he really believed he wasn't worth loving after that.

She probably wouldn't forgive him after this but it would be enough to keep her away from him temporarily enough so that he could deal with the Persona problem.

After all, seeing her safe and happy was enough even if it wasn't with him.

Wasn't it?

Something inside of him told himself to run after her, but he couldn't, since it would bring her even closer to him.

Just then he heard a twig snap and he looked at the side.

Persona?!

"My, my Kuro Neko! I see you have taken a liking to that girl over there. Well, isn't this wonderful? Too bad you broke her heart and she left you." The unmasked man said with a smirk (wow he really knows where to stab a person in the heart doesn't he? No wonder he's so good at blackmailing people to do his bidding).

" Shut up! What do you know? Let me tell you this… I'm not doing whatever you're going to force me to do! So get out of my face before I burn you!" Natsume retorted his anger rising up as he spoke.

"Now, now, there is no need to get so worked up it's not you I'm after. I someone who can supply me with multiple Alices do you know anyone who can do that? Hmmm." Persona sneered.

He had never liked this boy in the first place it was only his power he was after, but now he'd found a new toy an even better one to be precise, now all he had to was make one little push and all that power would be his.

Natsume remained silent he knew who Persona was talking about and after all that person was the obvious choice: Sakura Mikan.

With her SEC Alice she could supply endless Alice stones with different powers.

This would not be good at all.

Not for her or for the world.

"Thought so Kuro Neko." With that said Persona turned on his heel and disappeared into the shadows leaving Natsume in a daze…

* * *

That's it how'd you like it? Hope it was good! I may not be updating in a while cause school's starting soon and I have to shop for new tacky uniform (yuck!) Anyways I'll try to update as soon as possible!! Bye!! ;)


	7. Chapter 7

_…"Thought so Kuro Neko." With that said Persona turned on his heel and disappeared into the shadows leaving Natsume in a daze…_

* * *

Natsume punched a tree and then burnt it into cinders.

He was just so enraged at everyone especially Persona, 'Why at all times does he pick now to show up?! Why her?!' he thought already heated up at himself for not being able to protect her properly and always messing everything in her life up.

He cursed himself for being so stupid and not seeing this coming.

He knew he couldn't keep much of a distance away from Mikan now, not without Persona capturing her but now he had got her angry with him.

Why couldn't he just be a normal guy for a change and confess his undying love for his woman? (Ummm… she's not yours yet though… Natsume…)

All he had wanted to do was keep her safe from that cursed darkness he was drenched in and shield that bright happy light of hers away from the evil thieving hands that would take it from her if she got too close and now it was too late they were already plotting it all and trying to carry out their vicious plan.

Natsume sighed at this thought he wasn't going to let them near it one inch whoever Persona and 'they' were, he wasn't going to let them take her away.

With that he headed back to the academy with purpose and a determined expression ready to take action.

While that was happening something else occurred at the High school principal's Office…

* * *

Ok… I know it is a very, very short chapter but I felt that the next part would link to the next chapter, which should be up very soon! (Fingers crossed!!) I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while but as I said in the previous chapter I was very busy in preparing for my new school year which is only coming up in a few weeks (wahhh!! :'( !!!) So please leave a review and any ideas you have on upcoming chapters because I'm beginning to have a bad case of writer's block!!

Anyways,

Bye!!! xoxo


	8. Chapter 8

_…While that was happening something else occurred at the High school principal's Office…_

* * *

Principal Yukihara Kazu was sitting in his office quite baffled and worried.

He'd found out from the Middle School Principal that Persona was back and it was quite possible that the ex elementary school principal was too.

There was a big danger because that person was aware of all the academy's strengths and weaknesses and so he had a greater advantage of taking over as he had tried to do before.

'Though this time it'll be different…' the high school principal mused, 'he probably has outside help too… and if Persona has come to this academy once again then he probably has come to take away one of the students… which are probably one of the dangerous ability types, therefore it narrows down the search as to which child would need most protection.'

He got up and looked out the window he knew the villain still needed the SEC ALICE and his niece Sakura Mikan would be the main target since she was one of the very few people in the world to this type of ALICE.

The other person in line would be Hyuuga Natsume with the fire Alice and he was known to be Persona's favourite 'toy'.

Though Ibaragi Nobara with the Ice Alice was also one of Persona's favourites, she had betrayed him when she decided to defend Alice Academy instead of exploiting it.

There were a number of choices Kuonji could make (that is elementary principal's name right?) but the main people who should be put under surveillance should be Sakura Mikan and Hyuuga Natsume.

They had the most rare Alice's and both had been deeply involved in the Alice war.

'Then it's decided. I'll have to carry out this plan as soon as possible.' With that the High School Principal told his secretary to let the Visitor come through to his office. 'It's going to be a long day…' the High School Principal mentally sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile another event occurred….

Mikan had run into her room and slammed the door behind her. Heart wrenching sobs erupted from her.

' Natsume no BAKA!!!!!!' she screamed out to the empty room as she sank to the floor hugging her knees.

This was the second time he kissed her since the Christmas ball when they were 10 years old.

This kiss was no different from the first except this time she ran away instead of him.

What kind of a heartless monster was he?!

Stealing her kisses.

Now she won't be able to get married!

'Well no more! I'm going to go over there and interrogate him until he begs for mercy! He's drawn the line and I am going to follow Hotaru's advice and go talk to him, if it's the last thing I do!' Mikan mentally bellowed. (I don't how many times I've sweat dropped at this point….)

With that thought She marched out with a look that would make even an army general salute to her.

* * *

At the Sakura Tree….

Mikan approached the tree but the closer she came to it the more nervous she became.

The truth was that she didn't know how to confront Natsume with her problem. It was as if the tree itself was mocking her as it's roots swayed in a jeering way. When Mikan got there it seemed as if Natsume wasn't there.

Disappointed Mikan moped her way back to her room and locked it. There she went into hibernation mode…

* * *

In Natsume's Room…

Natsume lay down on his bed. He couldn't sleep. Insomnia had taken over. It was a pity since he didn't seem to be having nightmares recently and he'd got at least 5-6 hours of sleep per night.

It was the most sleep he'd gotten in years and he really didn't want it to stop right now. Though Natsume knew the real reason why he couldn't sleep. Mikan.

He was wondering how he would apologise to her.

He was going to do it today when Mikan came to the Sakura Tree but it didn't seem like the right time.

He was wondering whether he should confess while apologising or not.

Or if he should confess how should he do it.

It was confusing yet embarrassing for him since he never had thought about the way he should confess.

Heck, he always thought about pushing her away and trying to make her hate him to the best of his ability… not that it worked or anything.

But now that he wanted her to stay near him it was so different.

It was as if a new door in his mind opened up to him filling him with new possibilities that he and Mikan could do together.

Who was he trying to kid, when he told himself he would never allow himself to go near her? Was he really trying to protect her from his darkness or was it something else? Even now he felt that it was dangerous for her to get near him. But that girl was like strong glue that stuck onto you no matter what. It still angered him at how fragile and weak she was and yet she never broke.

What was he thinking about… he still had to figure out how to apologise to her.

Ugh… he really hated this. That girl really annoyed him even when she wasn't there.

'Still, it's one of her best traits…' mumbled Natsume as he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Midnight… Outside the academy a couple of people gathered….

'Hey! Be careful where you step! You could of easily broken that!'

A guy with violet eyes scolded the guy next to him who had his hair styled into a ponytail. 'Anyway, keep quiet now! We have to wait for orders from the boss, and then our plan can commence…'

* * *

Here's the next chapter! Sorry it's so late! My laptop got busted and my Homework's been piling up and up! So please accept my apologies!! Anyways, you know what to do! Send me your reviews!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of love

ChicCuteness~

xoxo


	9. Chapter 9

…'_Hey! Be careful where you step! You could of easily broken that!'_

_A guy with violet eyes scolded the guy next to him who had his hair styled into a ponytail. 'Anyway, keep quiet now! We have to wait for orders from the boss, and then our plan can commence…'_

* * *

Outside the academy, if you listened closely enough, you'd be able to hear a few off keynotes being hummed by a mysterious man.

If you looked closely at the man you'd find out who it was… Violet eyes and orange to reddish hair… That's right… Reo Mouri! Most normal people would scream,

'kyaaah! It's Reo Mouri the famous singer!!'

But if you're from Alice Academy and knew about what had happened when Reo Mouri last came to this school you'd say the opposite.

Reo was back, ready to take over the academy and destroy it. He leaned his head on a nearby tree waiting for a signal.

The plan was foolproof; no one would be able to stop the AAO from triumphing. All he needed was one minor signal and the rest would be easy.

He was smirking in self-glory until he heard a snap. He flinched, turning his head to the left,

he snapped, "didn't I already tell you to be careful where you stepped! This equipment cost us almost all our savings! One hitch in our plans and everything is a failure! Do you hear me?! FAILURE!" Mentally moaning, "Well it would go smoothly if I didn't have to work with such an idiot!"

"Ah! Sorry, Reo! Don't worry about it! It's fine! I'll be more careful now!" The guy with the ponytail said.

He knew he had to cover up his mistakes if one bad word went out to the boss he would be thrown out of the AAO and robbed of his Alice. Reo just ignored the guy. He was just a puppet he could use to protect himself. That guy may've been testing his patience but he was good at using barrier Alice.

He played an essential role in this plan. Though afterwards, when the task at hand was completed… he wouldn't be able to consider his safety in being as essential to the AAO itself. Maybe the boss would promote him if he turned the guy in. How sweet would this be?! It was like killing two birds with one stone.

'In the meantime though I'm stuck here' he mentally sighed.

* * *

Next day before class…

Mikan woke up to the constant ringing of her alarm clock. It was the kind of day she didn't want to wake up in. Besides, she was too depressed. She didn't want to see Natsume at all. 'Maybe he decided to skip classes today' Mikan thought hopefully 'after all we have Narumi Sensei today!'

She started to get ready for class, until she looked at the time...

3…

2…

1…

"KYAAAH!!! I'm Late!!!"

And off we go!!

At class…

* * *

Mikan rushed in banging the door open.

"Sorry I'm late!" She huffed. Then she looked around. No one was there.

"Eh! Where is everyone?!"

She then looked at the clock…

"I'm early!" she yelled

She almost jumped for joy except she was early by one whole hour. "What should I do?" She wondered.

"I know! I'll go to the Sakura Tree!"

* * *

At the Sakura Tree…

When Mikan approached the Sakura Tree she had a sudden thought, "What if Natsume's here?" she still wasn't ready to face him "Nah, He never wakes up so early in the morning I doubt he'll be here" she quickly dismissed the thought.

Mikan sat at trunk of the tree closing her eyes.

Her mind was in a state of chaos. No matter how hard she tried blocking all the chaotic thoughts out of her head, they just kept coming back.

She shook her head trying to gain control but she just couldn't stop the thoughts. She knew whose fault it was and she knew he wouldn't help. The criminal of course was Natsume.

'Maybe I over reacted… I mean going as far as saying I hate him was kind of rash…' (awww, Mikan you're so thoughtful~)

'I mean we kissed before and we still had the same relationship…more or less…he wouldn't talk about it afterwards though… but still it was a kiss…' Mikan blushed as she remembered the kiss she shared with Natsume at the Christmas party when they were ten.

'Ten' she thought, 'TEN! That's right! We were ten years old! This is a whole lot different! We're in high school now! Back then we were young and innocent… at least I was… a kiss like that wouldn't mean anything back then… would it?'

Her mind wondered to reasons why he decided to kiss her; she knew why he kissed her the first time…

At least she thought she did; he said he wanted to know what a kiss was since she said that the 'tooth kiss' didn't count as a proper kiss. Still weird but it had a reason behind it.

But she still couldn't think of a reason behind this kiss.

'Why is Natsume so hard to figure out sometimes! Wait… SOMETIMES! I mean all the time!' She bellowed mentally.

Whether it was a reason behind a kiss, His choice of manga, skipping classes, being mean or… even doing missions, he was always hard to figure out.

'He never tells anyone. He always will carry the burden by himself. Maybe its about time he lightens the load he carries.' Mikan thought wistfully.

That was one of the reasons why she cried. She cried in the place of Natsume, she smiled for him. She basically showed emotion for him. She showed emotion that he refused to show anyone.

'Why? Why do I do what I do for you? My heart aches for you and grieves for you when you're hurt and alone' She whispered with sorrow 'Why?'

She was crying now.

The tears wouldn't stop.

They just kept coming.

She really hated herself for no particular reason.

She hated the way Natsume treated her and she hated the way she felt helpless around him even more.

She was so out of control around him; she felt she could say anything and it would be okay, because it was Natsume she was talking to.

She hated the way he would make her feel better through insults and although it was totally crazy it would take her mind off things and forget everything.

He was like a flame it would come up and warm you inside and out then it would eventually go out and you would feel cold and numb again. Yes, that definitely described Natsume, and she found another reason why his Alice was Fire. It was the perfect match; both in a way were bi polar. Cold one minute, Warm the next.

All she wanted at that moment was to see Natsume and scream at him for making her be like this. Making her wonder about her feelings towards him.

She didn't want to admit them just yet. She knew there was no chance that he would ever return them. She just wasn't good enough for him. She couldn't help him out and do big things for him.

All she could do were the small things, like make him smile or cheer him up and sometimes, rarely make him participate in group things like festivals or going to central town with their friends.

She was just hopeless.

She looked at her watch: 20 minutes until the bell rang.

'Just enough time to go to the washroom and rinse my face,' she thought glumly.

She was not looking forward to going to class, not at all.

She walked towards her classroom dragging her feet along with her.

Although at his point she hated to admit it, but skipping class would be like admitting defeat and she was no quitter.

She wouldn't let Natsume have the satisfaction of thinking that he had scared her off.

She'd give him the opposite.

She would show him that she was stronger than he thought she was.

With that thought in her head she straightened her back and put a smile on her face. She may be hurting inside be she wouldn't let it show and make everyone worry. Today she would move on and feel better. Then after classes she'd confront Natsume and ask him what the hell he was doing messing with her life. If he didn't answer her question she'd just torture him until he did.

'Well then! Things don't look so bad now! I feel a bit better already!' (My, how… optimistic)

* * *

At class…

Mikan walked in and greeted everyone as she usually did then sat down. Ignoring the person who sat next to her. He would get his earful later…

* * *

Thnx sooo~ much for reading the fan fic!! means loads to me!! but i need a favour... i need you to review so i know how good or bad my story is!! if u dont then the story might dwindle! and i h8 when tha happens!! so keep those reviews coming people!!

Love

ChicCuteness xoxo


	10. Chapter 10

_...Mikan walked in and greeted everyone as she usually did then sat down. Ignoring the person who sat next to her. He would get his earful later…_

* * *

Natsume was looking out of the window during class. It was the usual boring weather. It was cloudy but not cloudy enough to rain. The scenery was the same, you got used to the grand cites of the academy. The only reason he had even come to class in the first place was because of the idiotic girl sitting next to him, who was named: Sakura Mikan.

It was enough that he had to think about the meaning of Persona's words and what he was planning but now the clueless girl had decided to ignore him throughout the whole day.

'Wow, Polka, you really know how to encourage a guy on, don't you?'

That was his first thought as soon as she'd entered the room. (My, my, a little bit sarky today aren't we??)

She had greeted everyone as she normally did with that sunny, bright smile of hers (and it was so obvious that she was faking it) but when it had been Natsume's turn she suddenly decided that staring at the board was much more entertaining.

But he didn't miss the secretive glances she was giving him.

Natsume let out a smirk. He knew exactly what she was planning and he was going to use it as an advantage (Natsume.... you are very sly.... ufufu, that is very good!)

Oh... today was going to be.... interesting.... yes, very interesting indeed.

* * *

_Back to Mikan (p.o.v)...._

Did I just see him smirk?!

Just what is that pervert thinking?!

Ugh! Isn't he bothered by the fact that I'm ignoring him?? Just you wait Hyuuga Natsume! You will regret your actions!

Uh-Oh, there's the sensei better pay attention!

* * *

_After Some hours later...._

Natsume had sneaked out halfway through class.

The lesson was just too tedious and he had already covered that part of the textbook weeks ago.

'tch, slow idiots'

Looking back at the building he wondered how long it would be when the others were let out of class.

He was waiting for HER to come after all.

'Well since its noon it won't hurt to take a small nap, right?'

He thought as he dozed off into dreamless slumber. (What was the point of asking himself about a nap?! He would've slept either way!)

* * *

_About half an hour later...._

Mikan approached the foreboding tree in front of her cautiously, keeping in mind the fact that she wanted the element of surprise.

This is her plan:

*Get to the Sakura Tree quietly. _Check._

*Make sure that the perverted jerk hasn't spotted you. _Check._

*See where he is. _Oh yeah... where is he..... Hmm..... Ah! Target spotted!! Check._

*Silently climb up the tree. _SNAP! Oops... oh, well! Almost Check._

*Creep up to him. _Wobble... Eeek... Phew... nearly lost my balance there. Check._

*Carefully, remove the manga off the target's face. _Easy enough. Check!_

*Now, initiate..... WAKE UP BELLOW!!! _Ok! GO, GO, GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

"NAAASSTUUU--- mmph!"

A hand had reached out and clomped her mouth shut. Thus, refraining her from doing any bellowing at all.

'What the heck?!'

Was the brunette's only thought at the time, as she saw two deep crimson eyes glaring at her direction.

This wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't part of the plan at all!

'Plan B' was her next idea.......... 'Run!'

It would have been a very bright plan B to, if it wasn't for the fact that the Hyuuga Natsume's grip was too strong on her poor fragile arm of course.

"Just what do you think you're doing bellowing at this time of the day....?"

"What do you mean by what am I doing?! Just what are you doing, dozing off in the middle of the day??" (...Mikan's definitely pissed)

"Well I'm doing just what you said just now... Duh"

"Sighs.... well if you're going to talk to me like this, maybe I should go!"

"Oh, really...? Well, then.... what if I say 'no'?" Natsume moved his head forwards to get a better view of her facial expression (wow.... does he find her angry face THAT amusing??)

"Are you challenging me Natsume!?" Mikan's eyes turned into a deadly glare (right now I'm thinking... if looks could kill....)

"I don't believe this was a challenge.... Mi—ka—n..." Natsume blew the syllables of her name into her ear. This earned him a deep blush spreading across the girl's face.

"Well..... I don't believe that- um..... I don't believe thaaaat....." Mikan frantically tried to come up with a comeback that could out whip Natsume's but gave up in the end.

'_Besides...._' -she thought- '...._that wasn't the purpose of why I came here in the first place...'_

"Anyways... Natsume... I.... I didn't like it when you kissed me that day, you know.... and... I really deserve an apology from you..."

Mikan felt flustered about saying her thoughts out loud. (Don't we all... sigh...)

It was alright when you thought about it, but when it came to really telling the person off about such a topic was really... um... well... just plain awkward.

"What are you saying Polka-dots?"

Natsume had decided to play innocent.

(You know.... I just realised.....this may reduce Natsume's chances of being accepted by Mikan IF he confesses to her.... Ehehehe......-_-')

"Don't you dare try to play dumb with me Hyuuga Natsume! I know you know what I'm talking about"

"You know there's something about the way you pronounce my full name that I really like..."

"Why you sneaky bastard-"

"Now, now, _Sakura Mikan_, don't use such bad language"

"Huh! Like you don't use worse words!"

"Well, I never said I was a saint"

"Why you-"

"Yes, Pink polka-dotted panties girl?"

"YOU PERVERT!!!!"

"Ouch! Your voice is loud!"

"Hmmph! It's a good thing too! Keeps guys like you away!"

"Well... it only does the opposite... it keeps me wanting to be closer to you..."

"YOU- ................h-huh?"

Mikan's face held a dumbfounded expression. Since when did the Hyuuga Natsume in front of her ever become so.... sincere....?

"Shocked much, Polka?"

"..."

"....Polka-dots?"

"...."

"Hey.....? .....Little girl?"

No response.

"Mikan...?"

She jerked her head upwards at the mention of her name.

It was a reflex action really.

She couldn't help it, especially when he said it.

It made her heat beat in a flurry.

"You have got to stop doing that..." Mikan said unconscientiously.

"Doing what?"

Okay, this time he- Natsume- really didn't get it.

"It's okay, never mind"

'_Better if he doesn't know that him saying my name makes me feel weird... he'll probably make fun of me if he does'_

"You're so..." Natsume paused, trying to come up with a word.

"I'm so... what? Natsume?"

Inside she was thinking, 'is_ he going to say something kind, about me~?'_

"You are so.... STUPID" The fire caster put bluntly.

"Hmph... says you"

'_So much for kind' _Mikan thought sarcastically.

"Yes, I do say"

"Jerk"

"If I'm such a jerk then why do you always insist on hanging around me?"

"Well... I don't really know..."

Mikan always wondered about this, but she knew the real reason why anyway. It was in her mind somewhere she just had to look for it. (At least I hope so....)

"Well, it's expected by an idiot like you... so... I'm not surprised"

"Why I ought to-"

"Still it's one of your strongest points," Natsume mused while cutting her off.

"Um.... " Mikan had suddenly lost her ability to speak sense again. Had the guy gone insane? Did he actually compliment her or was she hearing things?

"So... Don't change.... Because you're fine just the way you are..."

And with that he stood up.

He was about to walk away when Mikan grabbed his hand.

"Do you really mean that, Natsume?" Mikan asked him with a small smile on her face while her bangs covered her eyes.

Natsume's eyes widened. He never thought her reaction would be able to be this fast. He didn't know how to respond so he decided to say the first word that came into his head.

"......Yes...."

Okay he hadn't planned on saying that but what the heck it made sense to not say the word no. What was the point of saying what he had just said if he said that he was joking around?

He slowly turned his head around to see Mikan's expression.

Did she know that he had just told her an indirect confession?

He didn't plan on confessing like that, he had planned it differently.

Well fate just wasn't fair. Then again, when had fate ever been fair on him?

He had fallen in love against his will (or so he thinks) to start with and now confessed accidently.

Did karma hate him that much?

* * *

Ehehehehe!!! Sorry about the late update!! School just got a whole lot demanding!! (boohoo T_T)

Just to let everyone know I will be updating this story monthly!!! (HOORAY!!!)

So anyway thanks for reading and the next chappie has something to do with AAO!!! Oops! Let out a little to much! Hehe!!

Anyways,

Until next time. CIAO!!!

Chiccuteness xoxoxo


	11. Chapter 11

_He had fallen in love against his will (or so he thinks) to start with and now confessed accidently._

_Did karma hate him that much?_

* * *

Well...

Here he was.

Here was, Hyuuga Natsume aka Black Cat.

He had just made an indirect confession.

(Hmmm... Let me rephrase that....)

He had just made an indirect confession of love.

And, he was now muttering a string of curses in his head.

Wow.

Well.... that's karma for you.

He saw the girl in front of him and she was... was.... laughing....?

In fact, she was laughing so hard that tears were rolling out of her eyes and plip-plopping onto the ground underneath her. (ooohhh!!! This is too good!! Now… where's my popcorn…?)

Did this mean she had found his indirect confession very amusing? Or... did it mean something else..?

Natsume was too confused with the situation to even move. (Oh, how Hotaru would've loved to take pictures of him in this state!! -Author is talking with her mouth full… very bad manners…-)

For once in his life Hyuuga Natsume was utterly whipped.

He was so whipped that he didn't know what to do. (I feel very, very sorry for him. Don't you?)

……………::::::::~~~#####~~~~::::::::……………

Let's get back to Mikan...

Well, as we all know. Mikan was laughing her guts out.

And when she saw Natsume's expression, she laughed even harder.

THE Kuro Neko of the school had just, complimented her.

Wait....

Rewind....

... Had just complimented her...

... Complimented her....

She thought he had complimented her.

Well... Wait until Natsume finds out about this.... (-evil glint in eyes- there's so much juiciness here!! –Evil laugh-)

Let us go to Natsume's POV...

So... there I was.

I stood there, just watching her laugh.

She had to be joking.

If she was going to reject me she could of have at least been sober about it and taken my confession seriously (The popcorn that the author was eating has flown out of her mouth in shock!! Umm.... it wasn't even a proper confession Natsume....)

Here I am standing here watching her laugh after giving the best confession in my entire life (Ugh... dude... seriously, how many confessions have you done? The answer: NONE. This wasn't a confession. It was I-N-D-I-R-E-C-T!)

I mean after all the effort I put into it (May I ask.... What effort?! You even say that, you said the first word that came into your head! IT WAS AN INDIRECT CONFESSION !!!)

...And here I am JUST standing here my pride shattered to pieces. (....no comment.... -__-)

That's it.

I've had enough.

I want a bloody explanation...

....NOW!

(oooh...touchy...)

____________:::::~~~~**~~~~:::::__________

Now, Back to both of the two...

'Oi, Polka! Just, what the hell are you laughin' at!?'

That was a big mistake.

It just made her laugh louder.

"Oh! Natsume.... You should see that look on your face!!---"

'....'

Of course, (if you haven't guessed already) Natsume was definitely pissed off right now.

'You. You really are an idiot. Do you really think it's clever to laugh in a situation like this?!'

Okay. This shut Mikan up.

'After what I said... Didn't you think that it would upset a person if someone laughed at them like? Huh?! Well, didn't you?!'

Well, now this made Mikan all dewy eyed and all. So, instead of going back to laughing she just started blubbering. (Wow. Mood-swings are very amazing...)

"Eh?! What? Well... I didn't really mean it like that Natsume!! Honestly! I didn't! It's just that...."

'Just like what.... Polka?' Natsume answered coldly.

His thoughts were mostly along the lines of, 'Shit, better get ready for rejection...'

"It's just that.... that... it's not every day that you give me a compliment and you looked so cute just saying it that I couldn't help but laugh!"

'Say what?! How dumb could she be?! She thought that I was complimenting her?'

Natsume mentally cringed at the thought of her calling him 'cute'.

'There she goes... calling me that damned word again... so... I'm 'cute'... Yeah. When hell freezes over that is.'

In the meantime, Mikan kept rambling on....

"You weren't like your usual self at all. I found it so humorous that I just had to laugh... I now feel ashamed of myself. So, what I would like to say is that, Natsume, even though you have an ego that is the size of, a gigantic mountain, which is very hard to breakdown, and is very stubborn and arrogant."

'Is she trying to anger me even more?! She's just rubbing salt into the wound...' Natsume thought sceptically. (I agree with him on this one)

"Please accept my apology and forgive me..."

Mikan had finally, finished her speech and bowed down. Waiting for Natsume to, forgive her.

'What the hell!? That wasn't even an apology! She was just insulting me more and more through the whole dialogue she just said! Oh... well, I'll just make her pay for all of the torment she has put me through...' (Hmmm... I can't wait!! *.*)

"Mikan… Why are you even apologizing to me? It should be who should say sorry…"

Natsume had an emotionless face on but the glint in his eye gave it away. Anyone who had made eye contact with him would've known he had something sneaky up his sleeve… well… everyone except our naïve brunette.

"Eh? Natsume… what are you saying…?"

Mikan was clueless.

Since when had Natsume admitted that he should be the one apologizing instead of the other party.

'Maybe, my speech moved him so much that he decided to start a new page in his life!! After all, my speeches can be very moving….'

At this point of her thoughts, Mikan's facial expression turned from a confused and baffled face into a wide cheesy grin. Natsume now openly smirked at this. It was so obvious what she was thinking about. All the while Mikan had to keep rambling on inside her head,

'… Even to Hyuuga Natsume!!! I'm so happy for him!!....... I'll be especially happy, when the class find out that, it was me who did it! That in actual fact, it was me who changed Natsume into an honest person!!" (I scoff: - Yeah Right! - at this point…)

After finishing her daydream about her popularity rocketing up and people worshipping her at her feet, she finally noticed the expression on Natsume's face…

(a/n: emphasis on the 'finally' !)

It was that cocky, arrogant smirk and glint in his eyes that she hated (slash loved!) on his face!

"N-Na- Natsume…. What's with that look…? Is- Is there something on my face??"

Natsume's smirk grew wider.

"No, no… Of course not… your face is as 'cute' as ever. I was just thinking of a way to say sorry to you… And I'm very sure that I know exactly how…"

Mikan smiled brightly at this.

"Oh! Really?! How will you say sorry? Are you going to give me something sweet? "

Natsume's eyes gleamed. He looked like a predator trapping its prey.

"Oh… I'm not sure exactly how sweet it will be… but… I'll try to make it as sweet as possible…"

"Hmmm… what will that be then…?"

"Do you want me to give it to you now?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"…yes"

"Are you really sure?"

"yes! I'm definitely sure!"

"Yes, but are you really, really, real—"

An annoyed Mikan cut him off

"Natsume! Just give it to me already!"

"Fine… but on one condition…"

"And… what would that be exactly…?"

"You promise not to say it's stupid or run away crying or even… laugh at it…"

Natsume practically choked out the last part of his sentence but Mikan didn't take much heed of it. She just wanted to know what 'it' was.

"Of course not Natsume!! You know I'm not that kind of person! Now just give me whatever that 'thing' is already!!"

"Ever heard of the saying: curiosity killed the cat?"

"Really?! Natsume! Just hurry up already!"

"Well… Okay then…"

"It's about time!"

At this point, Mikan was on the edge of her tither.

And what's more was the sneaky look on Natsume's face.

This was easy.

Too easy.

Even she could tell that he had a trick up his sleeve…

…but what was this said trick??

Mikan didn't know if she should run away and hide and never risk seeing whether it was a trick or not or… stay put and take it like the stubborn, ignorant, determined, girl she was.

Of course, she chose the latter side of her internal argument.

So they stood there Natsume coming up ever so close to her face, with his crimson eyes that looked like burning rubi---

Wait a second!

Natsume coming up close to her face!!

What the hell?!

'Oh, no. No way! No way is he going to do that again!'

Mikan readied herself to run away (Well better late than never right?)

But Natsume saw it coming.

'Too slow' He thought as his hands grabbed her waist pulling her towards him.

'Crap' was her thought as she came tumbling towards him.

Now… I don't know if you've noticed this but… usually when something comes hurtling down towards something else it usually gets knocked off balance… Well, wouldn't the same be applied for these two…. Oh, you noticed? (Thought so! :P)

Well Natsume pulled Mikan towards him with such force that they both stumbled to the ground. (A/N: I didn't say 'fall' I said 'stumbled')

Now what a compromising situation this left them in….

* * *

Hey there guys!!! Sorry for the very late update but school has been chaotic and you know.... But I have managed to update!!! YAYY!!!!!!!

but.... I want to know if should really carry this story on..... I mean do you really think it is worth reading....? That is for you to decide!!

Please PM me or review to tell me!!! Because I really need to know if this story is well.... You know... worth it..??

I will feel evil deleting it if some people are actually enjoying it....

so anyways ciao for now!!!

Chicuteness xoxox


	12. Chapter 12

_Now… I don't know if you've noticed this but… usually when something comes hurtling down towards something else it usually gets knocked off balance… Well, wouldn't the same be applied for these two…. Oh, you noticed? (Thought so! :P)_

_Well Natsume pulled Mikan towards him with such force that they both stumbled to the ground. (A/N: I didn't say 'fall' I said 'stumbled')_

_Now what a compromising situation this left them in…._

* * *

Well… there they were…

Shocked and maybe just maybe, _happy_ at the outcome of it all (… well one of them was anyway…)

Natsume had set a permanent smirk on his face.

Oh, how he relished in this delightful moment.

Things had not gone completely according to his plan but it turned out even better. (So… he really did have a plan… hehe… Natsume is just perfect for juicing this scene up a bit… if I do say so myself…)

Mikan just didn't know that she fell for it.

Sakura Mikan fell for Hyuuga Natsume's plan.

She actually unknowingly helped his plan along and made it turn out better (in Natsume's view) than it would have had she not walked away.

Natsume (who was directly on top of the poor girl) released his arms from her waist and pinned her wrists down onto the grass.

Mikan knowing that resistance was futile resulted to glaring at the face in front of her.

Natsume almost laughed at this.

As if a mere glare would be able to stop him.

Mikan tried to knee him when she saw the look of mirth in his eyes.

This wasn't the time to laugh dammit.

Her gaze then travelled towards Natsume's lips.

The smirk was slowly fading away as he continued to descend downwards and his whole expression turned serious.

His lips were now so close to her own that she unconsciously licked her lips in nervousness.

Only a thin sheet of air was separating them.

She looked at his eyes again.

They were full of many emotions.

Want. Passion. Seriousness… Love…?

He scanned her eyes looking for permission.

How had the situation turned into this!

A few minutes ago they had been arguing like cats and dogs and now…

Now, they were so close.

Very close.

Mikan closed her eyes as she felt him moving nearer towards her.

She could feel his minty breath fanning her face making her insides turn into squish.

She knew what was coming.

And she also guiltily realised that she wanted it.

She (much to her horror) couldn't wait for what was to come.

But why was it taking so long…?

She opened her eyes to take a glance at Natsume.

What was he doing…?

Didn't he want to kiss her?

Or was he just teasing her?

His eyes had a glazed look in them…

He was staring at her.

Was he going to turn back now…!

No!  
She didn't want that! (Much to her chagrin)

She hesitantly opened her mouth and started to say, " Natsu-"

But got cut off when Natsume gently laid his lips onto her own; effectively, silencing her from speaking another syllable.

She instantly turned into mush.

The kiss started to become rough.

Natsume was too overpowering and dominant.

Mikan was starting to lose whatever control that she had in that kiss.

They pulled away for quick breaths and started again.

Natsume during all this time was losing himself.

He needed her with all his might.

He leaned in to her one last time; kissing her like there was no tomorrow and then gently placed his lips near Mikan's ear.

Mikan shivered at his action.

He was panting hard but Mikan herself was panting harder.

"Mikan…"

Had Mikan heard it right?

Did he say her name again?

She loved it when he did.

Her name sounded special when it left his lips.

"Mikan…"he started again while Mikan let out a sweet sigh at hearing her name being whispered again by him.

"Mikan… I love…"

Mikan waited in anticipation.

What was he going to say to her…?

What (or mainly _who)_ did Natsume love?

She knew it couldn't be her, he showed so much disinterest towards her. He never would see her in _that _way, so she decided to confess her feelings to him before he could say another word to stop her heart from hurting even more. At least she would get her feelings across. (Woah, how did it turn into this?)

"Natsume… I love you…"

There she said it.

Abrupt as it was she had said it on the spur of the moment.

Now that she thought about it she really did love him.

She loved him for the perverted, egoistic, sarcastic, arrogant, annoying, anti- social, secretive, bad boy, kind, selfless, caring, drop dead gorgeous, passionate, mysterious guy he was. (She was a sucker for the mysterious and/ or bad boy type)

Too bad it took her too long to figure out her feelings for him and now that he loved someone else…

Well, that girl was one lucky bitch.

The thought of Natsume loving someone else made Mikan's eyes produce tears.

She almost hated him for that.

Well she did say _almost_.

She guessed she hated him as much as she loved him.

But, it didn't make a difference now… He loved someone else…

Slowly, she began to stand up.

She took one last look at Natsume and saw his eyes widen in shock.

It was as if he were in a trance.

She would have laughed at him if she wasn't so damn upset.

She managed to crack a small, weak smile and say,

"Don't worry Natsume… I hope we can still be friends! I just want you to be happy and content with your life… go on. You should go and confess your love to the girl you really love… Because I know that you would never consider me in _that_ way… so… good luck!"

And with that she turned away.

Okay, now this made Natsume snap out of it and come back into reality.

The only phrase that made sense in his mind was,

'What. The. Fuck?'

He then ran after the Clueless, heart- broken girl.

He pulled Mikan by the arm towards him.

This time he held her in a tight hug.

To say the least, he felt venomous at that moment.

She could confess but he couldn't?

Was he not allowed or something?

Was the world against him?

Wait.

That was a stupid question.

The world had always been against him.

Life was NOT fair.

Not fair at all.

And now she thought he loved someone else.

Oh, isn't that just great? (Note the pure sarcasm in the sentence)

This girl was too dense for her own good.

This was why he had to be there for her ALL the time.

'Stupid Polka Dots…' Natsume mentally screamed '…For having the ability to make me go into these embarrassing situations!'

Ohh, no, no.

He was not going to chicken out this time.

No.

He was going to tell her straight; Right here and Right now.

Crap.

She was crying.

Scratch that, she was a human water tap.

He hugged her tighter while whispering sweet incoherent words in her ears while at the same time kissing her hair.

Mikan tried struggling at first but didn't have the energy. At least she could enjoy his warmth one last time. (A bit overly dramatic there aren't we Mikan? It's not like either of you are dying right now…)

She eventually calmed down and completely sunk into him.

'Listen… Natsume… you shouldn't-'

But she got cut off by Natsume.

'No. You. Listen!'

Natsume turned Mikan around made her look into his eyes.

"Do you know how many times I have tried to tell you! Do you even know what I feel? I gave you hints but nooo you just have to go around being your ignorant self-'

"Ummm…. Excuse me….?"a confused Mikan said.

What on earth was this boy talking about?

"Don't friggin interrupt me woman!"

'Umm…. Okaayy….?'

"You don't even know how much it makes my blood boil when I see you with other men. Actually it even annoys me when you more spend time with that devil's incarcerate best friend of yours and that damned ice woman than you do with me. They don't have to work to get your frickin attention!"

'Ugh… and exactly _who_ in this world would actually **work** to get MY attention?" Mikan scoffed.

"Oh… I don't know the queen of England maybe?

'…'

"It's ME!"

'?'

"Do you know how many creative new ways I come up with everyday just to annoy you so that you'll focus your attention onto me? Of course you don't. Do you want to know why because I'm tellin' you whether you like it or not!"

"Natsu-"

Mikan got interrupted by Natsume (… again…)

"I told you not to interrupt, dammit!"

"…fine then…"

"Now… where was I…? Yeah. I am going to tell **you** whether **you** like it or not! You see you're too pea brained to realise that I was protecting you! Yeah, I was! From the academy and the darkness that had swallowed me whole… But no… **You** wouldn't let me keep you away from all that pure hatred and evil; **you** then purposely wheedled your way in to my life and then forcefully pulled me out into your light. **You** risked your innocence for me even when I did things that would make you hate me. But, of course that wouldn't stop **you** since **you** had to be such a saint, even though **you** were fragile and **you** even knew that **you** would get sucked in too if you came too close to me because_ I_ even had the kind courtesy to tell you. **You** just had to be a hero. **You** just had to take care of me; _save_ me even! You used that pathetic partnering system as your excuse, even though I had made it very clear that I didn't give a damn about it. I knew as soon as I met you that you would be trouble! I just knew it! And I hated you for it. I hated that you were so optimistic. Even when everyone turned against you, you still smiled that bright beautiful smile that absolutely disgusted me. But when the day came that you tried to rescue me from that sorry excuse of a singer called Reo I thought maybe you weren't so bad and then I actually started to _like_ you. But then I realised that Ruka liked you too! Do you know how much that hurt me? I knew you deserved better than me so I tried to push you towards Ruka but you wouldn't completely leave. You stuck onto me like a leech never letting go. You weaselled your way into my heart and left a mark there. You know you're the only girl (apart from my sister) whose name I actually bothered to remember; who I wanted to notice me. I craved for your attention _Mikan. _Actually I craved for you. I needed you. I vowed to protect you. I vowed to shield you and… I vowed that I would never let anyone take you away from me…"

"Natsume…"

Mikan whispered. She had tears coming out of her eyes at Natsume's words.

"Sakura Mikan you made me love you… And you have to take responsibility for it! I won't take no for an answer. I love you Mikan… I really do…" Natsume looked at her sincerely.

A small smile made its way to Mikan's face.

"Hyuuga Natsume… I think that's the most that you have ever said to me…"

"I said to not interrupt me woman!"

"No… it's my turn to return the favour…"

"Huh? What are you-"

Natsume for once got cut off by Mikan…By her lips…

Her arms made their way to Natsume's neck.

Both kept trying to battle for dominance with their tongue battle.

Then Natsume's instinct took over and they both made their way back to the Sakura tree… away from prying eyes.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Meanwhile in Hotaru's Laboratory….**_

"Sweet! I got it all on tape! Even though it goes against my policy but~ they'll thank me for it later on!"

* * *

Hehehehe! I know I haven't updated in a while so... I'm so very sorry! But~ I am gonna be updating In two months' time. Mainly because school is starting and I'm going on holiday abroad! Sorry about that but don't give up on me because I have recently gotten inspiration and am newly determined to finish it!

With bucket loads of love.

ChicCuteness xoxo

P.s. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW~~! I NEED ENCOURAGEMENT!

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	13. Chapter 13

_**Meanwhile in Hotaru's Laboratory….**_

_"Sweet! I got it all on tape! Even though it goes against my policy but~ they'll thank me for it later on!"_

_

* * *

_

**_At the Sakura tree a few kisses later…_**

* * *

Mikan's head was resting on Natsume's shoulder, while his arm was around her waist.

Everything seemed perfect at that very moment.

Well, almost perfect.

Mikan had fallen asleep leaning on Natsume thus making him think about what would happen next.

I mean (not to ruin this happy moment or anything but…) it looked a lot like Natsume had to figure out what to do next.

He got the girl.

But now… how could he protect her…?

Had he made the right decision?

Could he keep her away from danger more by staying by her side?

…Or…

…Was it better to work in the shadows where no one would know what was happening?

He recalled the events that had happened barely half an hour ago.

Natsume smacked his forehead. (Well… that was out of the blue…)

He hadn't planned on confessing to her like that!

He had planned on doing it discreetly.

Better yet… making her force a confession out of him would have been better!

What he had done was on pure instinct.

It really made him feel _pathetic _at the way he almost _begged_ her to listen to him and not leave him.

Only she could make him misinterpret how his plans would backfire.

But, damn! He couldn't help but love her.

Only she could make him feel this way.

Only she could.

Why was she the one he chose to love?

Did she have to reciprocate the same feelings towards him?

Did she like tormenting him?

Was he ever going to be able to make her _happy_?

And why was he asking himself so many questions?

Was he going crazy, mentally talking to himself?

He knew he wouldn't be able to answer himself. (Duh!)

It didn't even make sense if you put that into a question!

Then again, the girl sleeping next to him would beg to differ.

She always had a different view on things.

In her world nothing was wrong and nothing was right.

She was chaos and wherever she went she would cause everything to go into havoc.

Maybe he caught some of her unusualness.

Her eccentric outlook on life **was** contagious.

He blamed it on the damn freak of a teacher called Narumi.

He always knew that idiotic, pathetic excuse of a man was a bad influence on children.

Heck, he was a bad influence to society!

His poor polka dots had been contaminated with his infectious disease of happy go luckiness.

Then again… she always was happy go lucky…

…But that still didn't change the fact that the cross dressing teacher was a bad influence…

... -_- …

What the hell was he thinking about?

He had totally gone off task!

He had to find a way of saving Mikan from the damned AAO and fast!

He had a faint idea of how to save her but it was all a blur at the moment.

He just had to see what would happen next to step further on.

And he would do it without getting Mikan hurt.

But would she listen to him…?

If there was a way he could hide this fact from her then…

No.

It would all lead to the same outcome.

She would still end up risking her life for the sake of everyone.

So it would be better if he told her about it.

But how would he be able to do it?

He couldn't just tell her straight…

She would freak out and then give him big lecture on him being too selfless for his own good.

That would definitely be bad.

He could tell her subtly…

But she probably wouldn't get it and think he was acting weird… and _then_ freak out…

That was even worse than the first option…

He sighed.

He would tell her some other day.

But for now he would live in the moment and he opted to bury his nose into her strawberry smelling hair and stare at her peaceful sleeping face.

Natsume constantly pinched himself to make sure that this was not a dream and it was all real.

Life had finally begun to be on his side and Natsume decided to bask in it.

Who knows when he would get another chance when life would get this peaceful?

Little did Natsume know life was about to a 180 degree turn on him and Mikan.

* * *

**_At the same moment in Hotaru's laboratory…_**

**_

* * *

_**

Hotaru began to develop the photos that she had taken earlier on.

As she viewed one of them on her computer screen she saw a small dark blur in the background…

It looked like the figure of a person…

Which strangely resembled someone she had seen before… someone familiar perhaps…?

But who could it have been?

Finding this figure strange and slightly bizarre she zoomed in on the mysterious fuzziness in the picture.

She carefully manipulated the said image into focus where she scrutinized the familiar features of a person… to be more specific… a man's face.

That was a rare time that the said Ice Queen of Gakuen Alice: Imai Hotaru gasped and went pale white at the sight she saw…

* * *

**_At sunset at the Animal Farm:_**

**_

* * *

_**

Nogi Ruka also known as the Prince Charming of the school walked over to where the bunnies were.

He hadn't met with his fire-casting best friend for a few days and he made a mental note to visit him tomorrow and see how he was.

Goodness knew what Hyuuga Natsume could do in one hour let alone a whole two days.

But in the meantime Ruka decided to play with his beloved animal friends as he had missed them and had not spoken to them _all_ day.

His bright sea blue eyes glittered at the sight of his bunny's (who was now deceased) grand-children.

One of the baby rabbits was the spitting of his old loyal animal friend.

Oh how time had passed.

He bent down to pet one of the bunnies when they all suddenly went still.

It was as if they had sensed someone else being present.

They looked at Ruka indicating that something was amiss in the Academy.

Their bunny ears tingled in anticipation at what was about to happen.

Ruka sat down slowly; careful not to make a move.

Even the more rowdy animals such as the horses and normally rough housing dogs had quietened down.

You could sense the anticipation in the air even if you didn't happen to have animal pheromone Alice.

What could it be?

Ruka had no clue about what had made the animals behave so strangely nothing could make them as sober and silent as this; even his Alice had a limit to what it could do to make them quiet down and behave properly…

Ruka's blonde hair now glistened with sweat.

The animals here at Gakuen Alice had a very elite communication system.

They could find any piece of gossip or information within minutes (trust him… he had been using it since he was nine years old…)

What they had found out had surely set them on edge… but he had never seen them this tense since…

Well…

In actual fact he had never seen them this tense!

What was going on?

Ruka stood up.

Careful not to bang his head on the low ceiling's beam.

He had grown over the years.

And it had done him a lot of good in gaining the manly looks that he desired.

Yup! He didn't look like a cross between a boy and a girl anymore (which he secretly was very proud of).

Well it hadn't made him less popular with the girls but at least it had got him out of playing the female lead roles in the famous school plays.

Just thinking about them sent shivers down his spine.

Anyways… back to the animals.

Ruka looked around him.

All the animals looked really scared and apprehensive at what could possibly be happening.

Ruka tried asking them but they would simply keep silent as if protecting him from the dark information they found out.

But whatever it was Ruka wouldn't be kept out in the dark for too long… he would eventually find out; you could see it written in their eyes… Ruka could read them like an open book.

Ruka sent them all an annoyed look.

"Fine… if you won't tell me then I'll just have to find out soon then. Won't I?"

* * *

**_On the way to the dorms after the sun has set two people are having their usual round of bickering…_**

**_

* * *

_**

"Natsume! Really! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

Mikan huffed pouting.

Natsume just looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"It's because… I wanted to stare- I mean… um…."

Natsume became flustered.

Sure he confessed but that still didn't change his anti-social, insecure side.

"You mean…?"

Mikan was fascinated at knowing what Natsume was about to say.

I mean she practically _is_ his _girlfriend_ now after all.

"It's nothing Mikan"

Natsume looked the other way.

A blush evident on his face but Mikan (being the clueless, yet kind hearted girl she was) worried that Natsume may have a fever.

"Natsume are you feeling well…? Your face is red and-"

Mikan tiptoed so that her hand could feel Natsume's forehead (which also effectively brought her face closer to his).

"Your forehead is… warm… wait forget I said that! IT'S FREAKING SCORCHING HOT!"

"…"

Natsume just stood there still.

He just couldn't believe that she thought he had a fever.

This girl was really… something.

"Hey Polka dots… I'm fine… really, you worry too much…"

"Natsume be quiet! It must have been that you were sitting outside in the cold for too long! Ohh! Now I get why you didn't wake me up! It was because you knew I was tired so you waited patiently until I woke up right?"

Natsume just stood there his eyes having a soft look in them.

He just realised that he really liked her 'I-got-what-just-happened!' face…

"Oh Natsume! You really should've woken me up! I wouldn't have minded if I had found out you were so cold! Come on! I have blankets and medicine in my room!"

And with that she pulled Natsume with her into her room by the hand while he just had a dreamy look in his eye at the sight of her caring face.

He would never say it but he liked it when she worried over him like this.

It made him feel… like he did when his mother was still alive and she would care for him…

"Now… the medicine is in here somewhere… I just know it!"

That snapped Natsume back into reality.

He looked up to see Mikan balancing on one leg while standing on top of a box which was on top of a stool which was then on top of a chair.

Natsume knew that this was pretty unstable and he quickly rushed up towards Mikan.

Goodness knows what would happen if she fell off.

"Mikan get down from there- !"

Too late the box gave way and Mikan came hurtling down along with a box of medicine and a glass jar full of plasters and bandages.

She closed her eyes waiting for the impact from the floor.

But it never came.

All she felt was a pair of strong well-built arms catch her which was shortly followed by the mutter of curse words and the Smash of a glass jar.

Then she felt a small sting across her cheek which made her jolt and open her eyes in surprise.

The first thing she saw was a pair of ruby red eyes gleaming at her with love, tenderness and worriedness which then cringed in pain.

She then saw blood coming out of a wound on Natsume's head which had come from the shards of the glass jar.

Her hands quickly flew up to caress the wound on Natsume's head.

"Natsume! What just-"

"Mikan! Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Mikan's eyes widened at the amount of blood Natsume was losing.

That was all it took for her to jump into action.

"Forget about me idiot! Your wound is much worse than my simple scratch! Oh! This is all my fault! Here…"

Mikan pulled a bandage out of her skirt pocket.

You never knew when you needed a bandage; especially if you were Sakura Mikan.

Clumsiness made you prepared for any dilemma.

It seemed that the jar had hit Natsume head on.

Mikan quickly sat on top of the counter, so that she could get a better view of Natsume's head.

She inspected the wound for any shreds of glass and then bandaged the wound up.

She had done this many a time before when Natsume came back from missions injured so something like this was almost second nature to her.

_Almost_.

After all, she had trained herself not to get too sickened and faint at the sight of so much blood spilling out from a person's guts (namely Natsume's guts), but she still did have a lapse of light-headedness when she saw an especially horrific wound…

But, (much to thanks of the slightly kind heavens) today was not one of those days (…she had seen worse after all…).

Mikan finished up by tying the ends of the bandage together to form a knot.

"There! Done! It'll be as good as new in no time!" Mikan stated cheerfully.

She was just about to jump off the counter when Natsume kept her there while hugging her ever so tightly.

"E-eh? N-Natsume… what's wrong?"

Natsume just looked down at her and placed a light, chaste kiss on the scratch on her cheek.

"Just returning the favour _strawberries_…" Natsume whispered into her ear.

He placed one last gentle kiss on her lips and whispered goodnight into her ear as he left to leave, when Mikan suddenly called out to him…

"Natsume!"

"What is it…?" Natsume questioned turning around.

"Goodnight!" Was all Mikan said smiling sweetly at him with a slight tinge of a blush on her face.

And after returning the smile with a rare one of his own he left Mikan with a contented smile on her face.

Unbeknownst to her she was just about to soon see how unhappy her situation was actually about to turn to…

* * *

Okayy... Cliffy I know but the next chapter where all the ***** and stuff happens... yeah... i can't tell you'll just have to wait and see!

Yeah I haven't really commented much on this chapter because... well... I think that this chapter should be open to everyones view and not biased on my comments (if that makes sense!)... Just saying if anyone did notice...

Going holiday abroad really set my mind open and now I feel like I can write! Though its kinda bad since I've started my GCSE's and exams are like in a month... :/

Oh well!

Review if you love this story, if you like it, if you don't like it if you hate it, if you feel sorry for me, if you know the answers to the test papers of my exam... (o.k i know the last option probably isn't going to happen but i can still hope for a miracle!)

Right... um...

Well... give this story a rating; its whats seeing me through this endless void of despair (it needs to be gifted once in a while right?)!

Just follown the arrows! :

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